Seoul, Korea. September 27, 2009.
After a demanding four-day competition at the ISU World Cup 2 for short track speedskating, Jordan Malone (Denton, TX) skated off with the only medal won by the U.S. team during the event. His exemplary strategic performance against three Korean skaters in the Men’s 1000m A Final, earned him a second-place finish—and a silver medal. Ho-Suk Lee of Korea topped the podium for the gold medal.
Malone is ranked fifth for World Cup overall 1000m classification following these first two World Cup events. 2006 Olympian Anthony Lobello (Tallahassee, FL) demonstrated his skating skill during the Men’s 1000m B Final, coming away with a fourth-place finish. Travis Jayner (Midland, MI) skated in the Men’s 1000m semifinals but fell and was not able to advance. For overall World Cup 1000m classification, Jayner sits in eighth place with Lobello in 11th.
In the Ladies 1000m quarterfinals, Katherine Reutter (Champaign, IL) advances to the semis but teammates Allison Baver (Sinking Spring, PA) and Kimberly Derrick (Memphis, TN) finish fourth in their heats and do not move on. During the 1000m semifinals, Reutter just couldn’t pass Meng Wang of China or Korean Ha-Ri Cho and finished in third place to earn a spot in the B Final. Reutter won the B Final, leaving her in fifth overall for the event but still in first place for overall World Cup classification in the 1000m.
The relay events proved to be some tough skating for both the U.S. Men’s and Ladies teams. The men faced some strong opponents in their semifinal and just couldn’t overtake teams from Canada and Korea. They finished third and took a spot in the B Final. But the team, consisting of two-time Olympian Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, WA), Malone, Jayner and Simon Cho (Laurel, MD) tore it up in the B Final to take first place and fifth overall. The men’s team is also ranked in fifth place in overall World Cup classification for the relay.
For the ladies, some fantastic strategy paid off in the relay event for Team USA as they made it through the semifinals to qualify for the A Final. Skating well, Reutter, Baver, Derrick and Alyson Dudek (Hales Corner, WI) were in a solid second place behind China when the team fell and had to settle for fourth place. They are ranked in third place for overall World Cup classification in the relay.
After three tough competitions in a row, Team USA heads back to Salt Lake City, UT to continue training for World Cups 3 and 4 to be held in November. For complete results, visit www.usspeedskating.org.
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